


A Serious Conversation and a Funny Pun

by Fangirlshrewt97



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Pining, Post-Tsunami (9-1-1), Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23752768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlshrewt97/pseuds/Fangirlshrewt97
Summary: When Eddie comes to pick Chris up after a shift, he and Buck have a long overdue conversation regarding the aftermath of the tsunami.Alternatively, Buck is being dumb, and the Diaz boys set him right.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 150





	A Serious Conversation and a Funny Pun

**Author's Note:**

> Hey reader!
> 
> This is my first 9-1-1 fic, so let me know what you think and if I got the voices of the characters right!  
> Other than that, I just wanted to expand on Buck and Eddie properly talking about Buck being scared and traumatized from thinking that he had lost Chris.   
> None of these characters belong to me.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Fangirlshrewt97

Buck was cleaning up the mess that he and Christopher had made during their impromptu pillow fight when he heard the knock at the door. Setting the picture frames back in their rightful place, Buck went and opened the door.

“You’re late.” Buck said. Stated. Winced. That was not what he had meant to say.

At least Eddie seemed to be sheepish about it. “I know, I’m sorry. The last call ran long and we got back to the station late. Can I come in?”

Buck stood back to let him pass into the house and locked the door behind him. He moved to the kitchen to retrieve a beer, trusting Eddie to follow. “Is everyone ok?”

“Oh yeah no, it was a routine call Buck. There was a three car pile up in the highway, no casualties, but one of the vehicles was a huge pickup truck that had been carrying fertilizer and it spilled everywhere,” Eddie said as he settled into the barstool. Buck opened the fridge and got two beer bottles, popping them open before handing one to Eddie. “Thanks.”

Buck clicked his beer bottle to Eddie’s in acknowledgement. “That must have stunk.”

“It was horrific. Honestly, Bobby was about 2 minutes from ordering us to wear gas masks. I think the only thing stopping him was that he didn’t want to cause unnecessary panic.” The beer was cool as it slipped down his throat, settling him. He looked around the apartment, noting that furniture was slightly out of place and he spied a couple pillows laying haphazardly in a pile on the sofa. “Is Christopher asleep?”

“Yeah, I figured a call must have run late when you didn’t call me as you always do when you are starting from the station, and since it was already past his bedtime, I didn’t want to mess up his routine.” Buck said, voice soft as he remembered the boy trying to manipulate him into letting him stay awake a bit longer.

“He tried to make you let him stay up longer didn’t he?” Eddie teased when he saw the small smile on the younger man’s face. His chest felt warm in a way entirely unrelated to the alcohol, but he wasn’t sure which of the two boys caused it. Probably both. He was such a sucker.

“He knows how to work his puppy dog eyes for sure, let me tell you.” Buck commented as he rounded the counter to sit at the edge, knocking knees with Eddie. Eddie took a quick gulp to mask the butterflies that were starting up in his stomach.

“Oh no need, I have been on the receiving end of those too many times, and still don’t have a 100% immunity to them.”

“I don’t think its possible to be completely immune to them.”

The two men drank their beer in a friendly silence.

“I have another shift on Sunday, would you mind taking Chris then too?” Eddie asked.

Buck hesitated for a second before smiling brightly “Sure, not like I have anything else to do right?”

Eddie sighed. “Buck, you don’t have to force yourself to say yes…”

“Forced? No I am not forcing myself, why would you ask that? Eddie come on man I love Christopher!”

“Then why is it that you have started hesitating every time I ask you if he can stay over?” Eddie knew he should be softer with Buck, but sometimes bluntness was the only thing that got through to the stubborn idiot.

Buck visibly startled, as if he hadn’t realized Eddie had noticed, but Eddie has to give the man credit, he bounced back fast enough that if Eddie did not know him so well and hadn’t been staring him in the face he would have missed it entirely.

“I don’t hesitate!”

“You just did!”

“Eddie!”

“Buck!” Eddie said back, frustration giving way to annoyance, but both men paused when they heard rustling in the living room. When the noise stopped and it seemed Christopher had not actually woken up, Eddie sighed again and tipped his head forward, letting himself fall forward onto his forearms against the cool countertop. “Buck, I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I don’t want to fight either.”

“Then why are you lying to me?” Eddie asked, lifting his head to look at Buck. The man looked frozen. “Buck is this still about what happened during the tsunami?”

Those seemed to be the magic words because Buck visibly recoiled to the point of almost falling off his stool. He started to say something but stopped thrice and looked lost for words.

“Buck, I already told you I don’t blame -”

“You should!”

“Buck what-”

“Eddie how can you just … just forgive me like that?” Buck bit out, running his hand over his scalp and rubbing the back of his neck. “I almost lost you son, I didn’t call you, I was careless with him! How can you not care?!”

“Not care? Are you kidding me right now? Jesus you think I am dismissing that night? That night of the tsunami when you told me, those few seconds before I saw him were the worst few seconds of my life. I had thought that life could throw anything it wanted at me, how could it be worse than what had already happened? Not care, bullshit Buck. I was terrified. For the past few weeks, Chris has been having nightmares and screaming through the night. That first week after the tsunami he refused to sleep alone.” Eddie knows he should slow down, Buck is pale as a ghost but he is too worked up, and maybe Buck has a point, he needed to get it all out, but this was not how it was supposed to go. He is breathing heavily, hands clenched on the edge of the countertop, knuckles white. He closes his eyes and leans back, putting distance between them, and exhaling. In a quieter voice, he asks “When you said those words, that you couldn’t find Chris, that you thought he was gone, do you want to know what I actually thought?”

Buck looks more scared than Eddie has ever seem him, except when he was trapped under the fire truck, and what does it say about them that he is making Buck as scared as he was when he thought he was going to die? Eddie sat back down on his stool, hesitating before extending his hand, palm facing up on the counter, there if Buck wanted to take it. Buck looked at the offered hand as thought it could shatter him, flickering between it and Eddie’s face. Only at Eddie’s reassurance did Buck lightly place his hand on top. Ignoring the warmth curdling in his stomach (not the time!), Eddie squeezed the hand gently.

“Buck, the only thought running through my head was I had been a terrible father.”

Buck nearly fell off his chair again, only Eddie’s hand gripping his keeping him from falling to the floor. “What?! Eddie you are the best father I have ever seen. You care for Chris, and you go so above and beyond for him. You make sure he wants for nothing, and if he asked you the world, I am convinced you would find a way to give it to him.”

Eddie chuckled but didn’t stop the tears that rolled down his eyes as he remembered that awful night. “I haven’t convinced myself I am not doing so to make up for running away from him in the first place.”

“That makes you that much better of a dad. Because you came back, you decided you weren’t going to hide from your responsibility. You made the choice to always be there for him. You are his whole world Eddie, and that’s not something a lot of kids can say about their dad.”

“You have become a part of his world too Buck. Why are you scared?”

“It’s not the same…”

“Explain the difference to me.”

“Eddie you are his dad.”

“Yes, and?”

“I am not.”

“Do you love him?”

“What? You know I do!”

“Do you want him to be happy?”

“Eddie,” Buck said, stony faced as he saw where the conversation was headed.

Eddie was firm thought. “Yes or no only. Do you want Chris to be happy?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want him to be safe?”

“Yes.”

“When you are with him, is he your first priority?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think about him even when he isn’t with you?”

“Yes.”

Eddie smiled. “See?”

“See what?” Buck grumbled, mad that he had let himself be played so easily.

“Buck, you are not half as stupid as you pretend to be alright. I would have answered yes to every single one of those questions too.”

“So would the rest of the team!”

“Maybe, but I am not concerned about the rest of the team.”

“Just me.”

“Buck no…” Eddie said, sighing as he pressed the heel of his wrists to his eyes. He took a deep breath and stood up, moving to stand in front of Buck. The change in position had Buck looking up at him for a change. The vulnerability in his eyes, as if Buck was scared of what Eddie was going to say next. Moving deliberately, Eddie moved to cup the back of Buck’s neck, and tried to get his heart under control from where it was trying to leap out of his chest. Buck gasping and his pupils dilating slightly was not helping him in the slightest.

“I need you to listen to me very carefully, ok?” Eddie said, making sure the other man was looking at him.

Only when Buck nodded did he proceed. “You are so important to me Buck. Like insanely so. When I first moved to LA, I was so worried about how I was going to raise Chris alone in this new city. I was grateful for Abuela and Tia don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I would have ever moved here if I didn’t even have their small safety net. And even after I got here, some days I thought my parents were right and I was crazy for moving here. But then something changed. Want to guess what?” Eddie asked, a small smirk on his face.

Buck blushed, and Eddie felt a rush of affection. God he wanted to kiss him so bad. Why was he such a … knucklehead?

“Buck, you accepted Chris immediately, you never questioned about his disability or treat him differently to how to treated any other kid, and I don’t have the words to tell you how much that means to me. Most people can’t look past the walking aids or his differences, and you didn’t blink an eye at any of it. You just drove us in your truck speaking with him as if he was a normal kid the whole way home.”

“He is a normal kid Eddie.”

“I know that Buck, you know I do. And you know that. And the team. But for the random strangers walking down the street? For the judgemental parents in the playground?-”

“They can go shove it!” Buck said, frowning at the thought of people being cruel to Chris. And how was it possible Eddie hadn’t burst from how much he adored this man.

“Yes they can. But I mention them to explain that that is what I am used to Buck. The team accepting Chris and making him so comfortable meant the world to me, but you Buck? I…” Eddie choked off, surprised at the tears that started falling down his face.

Buck looked alarmed and stood up, but the close proximity at which Eddie had been standing meant they were standing chest to chest. They are like that for only an instant, yet Eddie felt as though his heart was trying to hammer its way out of his body at the sudden influx of points of contact with Buck. He tries to move away, but stumbles, nearly falling, if not for Buck throwing an arm around his waist and pulling him to his chest instead.

Time paused and quiet fell in the kitchen, even their breaths hitched as they stood frozen in position. Eddie could barely force his eyes away from Buck’s slightly open lips, and Buck was wide-eyed. Eternity could have passed without either the wiser. Neither knew who moved first to close the distance only for both to freeze when a faint “Buck? Daddy?” echoed through the pin-dropping silence.

The two moved apart, reluctant to put distance between them. When Chris appeared from behind the stairs, he stood adorably bed-rumpled, hair askew in all direction, one hand rubbing his eye as the other one covered his yawn.

Eddie took a step towards his son, falling to his knees in front of him to see him in the eyes. “Hey buddie, what woke you up?”

“I thought I heard some yelling…” Chris said as he hugged his dad, laying his head on Eddie’s shoulder, and rubbing his nose into the soft t-shirt he was wearing. Eddie’s arm tightened around his son, one hand cupping the back of his head. “We weren’t fighting buddie.”

“Yes you were…”

“No Chris, Buck was just being stupid about something, and I was telling him so.”

“Oh. You promise you weren’t fighting.”

“Promise. Right Buck?”

“Yeah totally. Don’t worry buddie, your Dad and I weren’t fighting.”

“What were you being stupid about?”

“Christopher, that’s rude! But yes Buck, want to tell him what you were being stupid about?”

Buck looked like a deer caught in headlights and blubbered a few times, nothing sounding close to words coming out. Deciding to take pity of him, Eddie tipped Chris to face him. “Buck here was saying that he doesn’t think he can take care of you.”

He heard the man make an aborted sound of protest behind him, but Chris scrunched his face into a confused frown. “But he takes care of me so well!”

Eddie smiled, grin stretching from ear to ear. He had the best kid in the goddamn universe. “Exactly. That’s why I was yelling at him.”

Chris looked between the two of them, Eddie kneeling in front of him, supporting his weight entirely to compensate for the absence of his crutches, and Buck in the background, looking at him and his dad then back to the ground. Slowly pushing himself away from his dad, Chris stumbled over to Buck, feigning a fall at the last second. As he had expected, Buck shot out to grab him under the armpits.

Chris smiled crookedly as he looked at him from the tilted angle. “See? I knew you’d catch me!” 

Buck gapes at him, and Eddie will admit he is also surprised by his son’s ingenious yet devious plan. Chris adjusts himself inside Buck’s arm, throwing his own over the man’s shoulders to hug him close. “I love you so much Buck!” Chris whisper-shouts in his soft voice. Eddie feels as though he is melting from the inside as Buck nearly collapses from Chris’s declarations, eyes glistening with sudden tears.

Eddie’s own eyes start to grow wet and he has to blink to chase the tears away. He goes over to where the two are, moving on his knees, and throws his arms over both his boys. He buries his nose in Chris’s hair, taking a deep breath as he bumps his head with Buck’s.

Buck peeks up from where he is hiding his face in Chris’s shoulders, eyes twinkling and honest to god sparkling with joy. Eddie feels lighter than air.

They stay like that until Chris starts to squirm, and chuckling, both let go, still staying close enough for Chris to regain his balance before he pushes them slightly to make his way to the kitchen.

“I’m hungry…”

Eddie protests at the request, knowing it cannot end with a full night’s rest if he lets Chris continue his plan. “Chris is it way past your bedtime!”

Chris turned to him with his famous killer pout-puppy dog eyes combination. Luckily Eddie had just been through a normal but tiring 24-hour shift which meant he wasn’t going to get mad, but he also was not going to put up with Chris’s antics.

Buck on the other hand - hook, line, and sinker. He crumbled like a sandcastle built by a child who was not architecturally-inclined.

“We still have some leftover pasta from dinner Chris, let me just heat it up for you!” Buck said as he went to the fridge and retrieved a small container.

“Buck, if he eats now, I swear he won’t sleep for another hour!” Eddie protested, but his complaints fell on deaf ears as both of his boys were in the kitchen, Buck having lifted Chris up so he could see the container go around inside the microwave. Eddie exhaled heavily. He guessed he should be lucky that such inane things could hold the attention of the two. Although his lips quirked as he recalled a memorable trip to Home Depot where he had left them by the kitchen section and returned half hour later finding them still fascinated with the silverware.

Joining them in the kitchenette, Eddie grabbed the plates from Buck and settled them on the counter before helping Chris onto the stool. Buck laid out the cutlery while Eddie retrieved the container from the beeping microwave. Buck had also pulled out some orange juice and poured Chris a cup.

Chris was giggling when Eddie placed the dish on the table, and said loudly, holding up a single piece of pasta up to Buck. “Hey Buck, what do you call a fake pasta?”

Buck put on a thoughtful face, hmming until Chris was in hysterics.

“Careful Buck, you might hurt yourself thinking so hard!” Eddie added in, shaking slightly from contained laughter.

Buck put on an exaggerated pout and turned to Chris “Chris, you dad is being mean to me!”

Chris just laughed harder before turning to Eddie and adopting a serious tone (failing miserably but adorably) “Dad…you have to… you have to apologize to Buck!”

Eddie nodded along equally seriously to Chris before turning to Buck. “I am sorry Buck.”

Buck squinted at Eddie before looking at Chris who nodded his head before gesturing him to come closer. Buck leaned in to hear what he had to say, a mischievious smile taking over his face, eyes twinkling. Eddie felt twin coils of apprehension and adoration flood his stomach. He was so screwed. “Fine. Apology accepted.”

“Ok?…”

“On one condition.”

“...What’s the condition?”

“We go out for ice cream and donuts tomorrow.”

Eddie looked between the two of them, and sighed exaggeratedly. “Fine” and ducked his head down so they didn’t catch his fond smile as they cooed victoriously and high-fived. The butterflies were back in Eddie’s stomach. Or were they elephants?

Actually you know what, it didn’t really matter, Eddie thought, as he joined his two favorite humans in the whole world for a lovely late-night snack. The domesticity of the scene amplified Eddie’s yearning for this to become permanent, for Buck to not just be a friend, but family, properly.

He wouldn’t say anything today, the tsunami had changed things between them, it was inevitable, but Eddie was willing to put in the work to not only mend the bridges, but hope for something more at the end. And he had a hunch he wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

* * *

Bonus:

“Oh wait, Chris, what is the answer?” Buck said as they were washing up the dishes.

“Answer?”

“Answer to your joke. What is a fake pasta called?”

The Diaz boys looked at each other before laughing and answering simultaneously “An Impasta!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the story!  
> If you liked it, please let me know through kudos or comments! And if you want to chat, find me at fangirlshrewt97.tumblr.com!


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